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Delusion
Delusion The Mists themselves have been one of the most useful allies the Shadow Court has. Unseelie changelings hide in a fog of doubts and uncertainties, of half-truths and insecurities. Perhaps the world recognizes that there must be a balance to all things, and hides what is necessary. Maybe the world is too tainted with despair and suffering to allow the innocent to witness the horror that is occulted there. True knowledge is often as ephemeral as a dream, as elusive as a nightmare that is forgotten by the light of dawn. Attribute: Manipulation · Innocence (Shadow Court, pp. 82-83) Hiding secrets is a valuable ability. This talent is used to obscure them. It will counteract attempts at mindreading, divination, or other abilities used to ascertain the truth about the activities of a now-"Innocent" Unseelie. Remember, Glamour is capricious, so this Art is not entirely foolproof. Note the number of successes attained when Innocence is cast. Regardless of what Art, Gift, or Talent is being used, anyone who wishes to pry into this secret with magical means must first overcome these successes. The duration is one day, so Shadow Court fat who "live lies" often practice their Bunks for this ability at the same time each day. This ability also interferes with House Gwydion's ability to see through lies. System: The Realm determines what truth is obscured. * Actor -- Knowledge of a mortal is hidden. * Fae -- Information about a commoner or member of the Shadow Court is protected. * Nature -- Secrets concerning a beast (or beastie) are protected. * Prop -- The location of an object is hidden. * Scene -- I don't know what you're looking for, but you won't find it here, fool! ·· Façade (power has been modified for balance &/or setting) (Shadow Court, pg. 83) This cantrip is used to disguise one's appearance. You must use a mask, veil, cloak, make-up, or some other method of obscuring your appearance to enact this cantrip, and the Facade will fade over time. This is overly elaborate if you want to impersonate someone for five minutes, but it's quite useful if you're on the run or infiltrating a court. Erecting a Face requires two steps. First, the Kithain must perform a bunk that disguises her appearance. Manipulation + Subterfuge (difficulty 7) determines the ingenuity of the disguise. Next, the changeling performs a ritual to hide her true identity. This costs three points of Glamour, but it lasts a long time. For each level the character has in Delusion, add an additional success to the disguise. If you attain more than 10 successes, the disguise will be impenetrable for one week before it begins to fade. (In other words, attaining more than five successes on your first roll can me most efficacious.) Even the best Facades slowly erode. This cantrip can be maintained one day for each success; each day, the number of successes is reduced by one. Someone must suspect that you are in disguise before he can see through the Face. Once he suspects, a simple Perception-based roll (diffculty 7) will suffice (e.g., Perception + Intuition or Subterfuge -- this is the Storyteller's call). One such roll can be attempted each day. If he gets more successes than you do, your cover is blown. Members of House Gwydion get -1 difficulty on this roll. You cannot enact the same Facade twice in a single scene. System: The Realm determines what you can disguise. * Actor -- You can disguise a mortal. * Fae -- You can disguise yourself if you are a commoner or member of the Shadow Court. * Nature -- Helpful if you really need to disguise a plant or animal, otherwise it's pretty damn useless. More than one horse thief has found it handy, though. * Prop -- You can erect a facade for a noble, but only if you give him an additional, visible prop to help him "get into character." Maybe it's a walking-stick or a distinctive hat. As long as he keeps the prop, the Facade works. * Scene -- A noble can use Facade on himself, but only if he stays within a certain area, such a s a city block or within the walls of a castle. As long as he doesn't leave the area, it will even work in the bedroom. ··· The Mists of Memory (power has been modified for balance &/or setting) (Shadow Court, pp. 83-84) The Mists do not always carry the moral objectivity that the Seelie would like them too, A disreputable fae may manipulate them to cloud the minds of others. The roll is always Wits + Realm (difficulty is the subject's Willpower). Some individuals have special talents or abilities to resist this. The depth of this magical effect depends on the number of successes. * One success – specifically what was said during the last hour. * Two successes -- the events of the last hour, and who they saw. * Three successes -- the events of the last day. * Four successes – any events of the last week. * Five successes -- any one memory. There are five things this Dark Art and the following Art cannot overcome: the loyalty of a troll, the chivalry of a sidhe, an oath, a geas, or true love. System: The Realm either determines the victim of this cantrip, or what is being forgotten. * Actor -- This either concerns or affects a mortal, enchanted or otherwise. * Fae -- This either concerns or affects a changeling. * Nature -- Could have been a puppy, could have been a horse. I'm not sure. * Prop -- I think I saw it somewhere. No, I've never seen it. * Scene -- Never been there. Never done that. ···· The Depths of Will (Shadow Court, pg. 84) Although difficult to enact, fae with this Art can convince one willing listener to undertake an enterprise that is not directly harmful, and then forget about that activity afterward. ("You must take this to the duke. It's important.") In addition to any other Bunk used, the cantrip must also involve an explanation of why the activity is important. The explanation doesn't need to be true. This explanation usually takes one scene. If the listener is willing to obey, he or she will then undertake the activity. If the listener wants to resist, he or she must roll Willpower (difficulty 7) or burn a point of Willpower to do so. Once the activity is performed, the Mists will erase all memory of the enterprise from the participant's mind. System: The different Realms add a number of intriguing variations. * Actor -- This can be used against a mortal, enchanted or otherwise. * Fae -- This can be used against a commoner. If you want to affect a noble, you'll need the prop or scene realm. * Nature -- This involves an animal used in the mission. Hope someone knows how to handle the animal in question. * Prop -- This involves an object a commoner or noble will use in completing the mission. * Scene -- This describes the destination of the mission. ····· The Darkest Heart (Shadow Court, pp. 84-85) This is an oath as serious as a geas. Powerful courtiers undertake it of their own free will; weak Seelie are recruited, condemned, and sent on this quest by a ritualist or an Instigator. This quest requires a co-conspirator who knows the cantrip of the Darkest Heart. When a changeling has performed an act -- willingly, unwillingly, or unwittingly -- that she later regrets, she may come to terms with the memory by hiding it in the darkest depths of her heart. She cannot speak of it until her quest is over, and the memory of the act is hidden. This quest lasts for one full year and cannot be lifted at any time other than Samhaim. The fae undergoing this quest will descend further into her Unseelie Legacy, but with one reservation: She will retain her memories and feelings about that one incident and they can't be taken away from her. Only the sin or transgression that drove her to undertake the quest will compel her. If she repeats that sin, she gains a permanent point of Banality and the quest is over. As long as she doesn't violate that stricture, she can try to perform a penitent act to atone for what she has done. She must then confess the act to an Instigator; until that time, she is under a self-inflicted Ban which corresponds to the Realm involved. Her true self is hidden away. She may never speak of the sin or transgression until the next Samhain, at which point she will speak of what she has done to atone. At least one Instigator (preferably the one who recruited her) must witness this. If she succeeds, she will lose a permanent point of Banality as her heart is lessened by the burden of guilt. She is forgiven. If she fails, she is condemned to her Unseelie Legacy for another year and must try again. There is a legend of a Seelie sidhe who felt such great guilt over the last 600 years and the advent of the Accordance War, that he undertook this quest and became Unseelie. The Instigator also directed a clique against this noble over the next year. The sidhe overthrew his tyrannical Seelie brother, traveled into the Realms of the Dead (because he had condemned his darkest rival to undergo a Geas there) and returned, led an assault against a Black Spiral Dancer Hive, and built a freehold in its place. No one knows the end to this story, because it is alleged that the sidhe is still on this quest, and will be until the end of the world. System: In addition to this, the fae must undertake a Ban that involves an aspect of her quest. * Actor -- Harming a mortal involved in the transgression is forbidden. * Fae -- Harming a changeling involved in the transgression is forbidden. * Nature -- Harming a type of animal involved in the transgression is forbidden. * Prop -- The penitent one may not use one of the objects used in the transgression. * Scene -- The penitent one exiles herself from the locale where the transgression was committed.